Breaking Bad...

So, here's a little background as to why I haven't been watching Breaking Bad with Aaron all this time... For some reason, I have a very physical reaction to drug use in movies and on TV. I get very nauseous. Yes, I know, I am very weird... If it looks like someone is using drugs, or is washed out, or something, I get the same reaction. I can't watch The Crow, vampire movies, movies where the actor is on drugs but the character is not (Robert Downey Jr, back in the day). I even stopped listening to NKOTB because Joey looked strung out towards the end of their initial career...

I tried watching Breaking Bad in the first season, when Aaron became addicted to it. The first one I watched had Jesse getting high... Nope... Not going to watch it any more...

And I held to that. The only time Aaron got to watch it was when I was in the other room, he was in Bethel, or I was asleep. His (and his Grandma's) constant pleas to give it a chance fell on deaf ears. I knew the cast was fantastic and the story line was amazing, but I couldn't stomach the sight of the drug use...

Then, I watched one of the episodes while in ABQ a while back. There was no drug use in that episode, so I didn't have my normal reaction - which is good. I didn't know what was going on, for the most part, but I was sucked in... It was the one where the "cousins" try to kill the DEA agent. HOLY COW!

I didn't see the next few, because Aaron went back to work. Since I wasn't used to watching it regularly, I didn't think to turn to the correct channel at the appropriate time.

Aaron came home and I watched the last two episodes with him. The second to last, I wasn't really paying attention to. Jesse hit the drugs again (after being clean and sober for a while), so I tried to ignore it as best I could... Then Walt mowed down two dirtbags with his car and then shoots one in the head... HOLY FREAKING COW!!!

Of course! I had to watch the final episode. I think I was as excited about it as Aaron was. It did not disappoint... Poor Jesse...

Now, Aaron will be purchasing the first 2 seasons on DVD and we will have a Breaking Bad marathon when he gets back home in a few weeks. I hope I can keep my stomach from rolling long enough to get the back story necessary for me to fully understand the episodes that I have seen so far.

Updates!

So, I promised updates... Here we go!

First off, you'll notice a new look to my blog. Blogger has made it easier to chose different templates and such, and I've been playing (with what little time I have - which goes to show just how easy it is to redesign my blog... what would have taken me at least a half hour to do took 5 minutes...) I'll need to pick a new header, as it is summer and the ice on the plane is depressing, but one thing at a time...

I had a great time at the MS Walk - So did Noni! We both walked for my mom. There were a lot of other dogs there, but no one else dressed their dog up for the event. Isn't she cute?

My team raised $3,000 for the MS Society. I had a goal of $100, but was only able to raise half of that. So, next year, I'll be a little more proactive in fund-raising. I hope they create a widget that I can put on my blog. They designed one for Facebook, but who looks at individual profiles anymore? I know I don't! The widget there has a thermometer that shows how much I have raised and provides a link to donate. I tried to do the same thing this year, but was unsuccessful. All I could manage was to link the MS Walk button to my donation page, which no one used...

I am a BzzAgent, and as such, I get to try out different products to give my honest opinion about them. I went several months without getting to try anything out and then I got hit with 3 campaigns... So I'm going to lump them into one blog post to tell you about them:

First - Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-a-clean Continuous Sprayer

I really liked using the product. The automatic sprayer makes it easy to spray down a shower wall without too much hassle. Usually, my forearm gets tired of pumping the handle. It provides good coverage, too. When I knew I was to get this product, I stopped cleaning my shower to "maximize" the experience. By the time I got it, my shower was pretty nasty... This cleaned it really well. However, because it was so dirty, I used more than I probably needed to and went through 2/3 of the bottle just cleaning my shower walls. The times that I used it after that, I used far less. I also used it to clean a really nasty window screen in my bathroom. It was handy, so I used it. It worked wonders!

It keeps the shower cleaner longer too. When you have long hair, you get shampoo everywhere when you wash your hair. This stuff made the suds from my shampoo slide right off the wall within seconds. All I had to do was rinse it afterward. Very nice.

You can't use the trigger upside down. That is one of the downsides. You still have to angle the bottle weird to get the inside of the tub (when turning it upside down seems pretty natural, at least to me).

The other thing that makes it not so great is the price. Depending on where you live, it could be anywhere from 8 to 10 bucks for the starter kit, and 5-7 dollars for the refill bottles. Given that you can use more than half the bottle on one cleaning, it could get expensive to continue to use.

As most of you know, I have a fragrance sensitivity. Depending on many factors, just about any smell can send me into an allergy attack. Shower cleaner is the worst. This stuff has a nice mild scent that only occasionally started an allergy attack, so it is pretty good. If you can put up with the cost, I would recommend this product to anyone.

Second - Dove Damage Therapy Intensive Repair conditioner

I didn't take a picture of this one, but it is wonderful! I love Dove hair products, but they have a strong (but pleasant) smell, which usually starts an allergy attack. It isn't good when your hair causes you to sneeze, so I had to stop using these products. I was glad to be chosen to review this product. When it arrived, I noticed that it has about the same smell as the rest of the product line, but it is a lot lighter. It does not cause me to sneeze, so BONUS!

The first time I used it, I was skeptical as to if it would condition my hair enough because it was too light. About the last 4 inches of my hair is pretty damaged and should probably be cut off, but I don't have time to get it done, so I just put up with it. The damage makes my hair very easy to knot up, especially if it is windy. This tendency makes me pull it up into a bun or pony tail, just so I don't have to deal with it. The day I tried this conditioner, I ran out of time for styling and couldn't find my clips or rubber bands to pull it back, so I left it down. I only blow-dried my hair, no flat iron. While running errands at lunch time, it was very warm so I had my windows down... BAD DECISION on my part, at least initially... My hair was flying EVERYWHERE!!!! And all I could think about was how I didn't have my brush or a comb with me that day... Then, I used my fingers to try and tame my mess.... IT WORKED!!! I ran my fingers through my hair, there were NO TANGLES and it laid down flat like it was always like that! AWESOME!!! I love this stuff!!!! I will never be without it again :)

Last - got2be Smooth Operator Smoothing Luster Lotion

I am not a big fan of this stuff. It is supposed to decrease frizz and smooth your hair, which it did, but it left my hair feeling "heavy". It has a smell that I'm sure some would call pleasant (my husband for one), but I don't find it very pleasant. It reminds me of something from my childhood that I didn't like, but I can't think of what it is right now. But it has the same smell. It did smooth out my damaged ends better than the Dove conditioner did, but I don't like that it is so heavy. I'm sure other people would enjoy it, but it is not for me. I have several samples of this lotion if you want to try it. Just let me know. I won't use them. I prefer my regular hair lotion.

No time...

Do you feel abandoned? I hope not... I'm still here. I just don't have time to blog like I used to... Not that I don't have anything to blog about... I do! I have tons of stuff to blog about... Like how the MS Walk went... Or some of the new products that I got to try as a BzzAgent... or the updates on the plane and life in general...

However, school and work have been sapping all of my energy and time. And what little energy I had left over was sapped by some illness that Aaron brought back from Bethel... He's just starting to get over it, but I don't think I am even halfway through it yet... (sigh)... I am tired of being sick... I have been sick more this year than I can remember...

So, stay tuned! If I get a chance, I'll post about the above things this weekend :) If not, you'll hear about it at some point in time... (i hope)

The week from hell that allowed me to say goodbye... (part 3)

So, the visit with my family was bitter-sweet. It was fantastic getting to meet my brother Joe's family for the first time. I loved getting to see my other brother, Jared's, girls all grown up (or at least almost there). My brother Josh was a constant joy to be around. It was the first time we've all been together in over 10 years.

I spent my time not doing school work and enjoying my family. The day of the memorial service, Aaron, Josh, and I desperately tried to finish the video for the service. My brother is a composer and we wanted to use his music for the soundtrack. Unfortunately, my mom didn't give him the message (part of her memory loss problems at the moment) and so he didn't bring it in the easiest format to use... We were cut short on time, so we weren't able to get his music files to work. Our back-up plan was put in action. We made it to the service minutes before it started...

Needless to say, it was a very emotional service. My brother, Jared, was in his military dress uniform. Cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends filled the church. My grandmother was very beloved. We all cried, we all laughed. We all made our peace with my grandmother's passing. I still miss her, but the grief is no longer overwhelming...

Aaron was very supportive during the whole thing. However, that night, he recognized the grief that I felt and I'm sure it reminded him of when his grandfather passed away a few years ago, and we were unable to attend the memorial service for him. He was very close to his grandfather. He desperately wanted to see his own grandmother. So, we cut the visit with my family short by a day and drove the 4 hours to ABQ to see his grandma. We arrived around noon and were immediately welcomed. I love going to his grandma's house. She is such a special lady and it eased the pain in my heart some to know that we still have a grandmother here. We were treated to Posole as soon as we got there... Much better than I can make here with fresh ingredients and pork that had roasted all day... I'm drooling now as I write this thinking about that Posole...  Anyway...

We reconnected with Aaron's Uncle Tony, who took us around ABQ on the "Breaking Bad" tour. Aaron LOVED getting to see all the places where they film the show - one of which is blocks away from his grandma's house :) After the tour, we took Grandma Dora to Uncle Ernie's house, where we met Grandma Dora's sister and had a nice family dinner. Of course, this was a Sunday, so we all stayed to watch "Breaking Bad."

Our flight left from Denver the next morning, so we left immediately after "Breaking Bad" to head back to Denver. Driving through the night was exhausting, but worth the visit with Grandma Dora. We took two-hour driving shifts and made it to Denver around 4:30 AM. We were wiped, but that was OK. The travel gods smiled upon us that day. Aaron was jump-seating all the way, but my ticket was for 5:30 PM. We both made it stand-by on the flight out of Denver for Seattle and made it on the flight from Seattle to Juneau with literally minutes to spare. By the time we deplaned in Seattle, they had called for final boarding on the Juneau flight. We still had to list for the flight. Again, the flying gods smiled on us. We were 2 gates apart. Normally, you have to go from C or D concourse to N when traveling to Juneau, which adds time on the train in Seattle...

We made it home and bailed Noni out of jail, finally ate breakfast, and then took a nap. Aaron got to take it relatively easy the next day, but I had to work a 10-hour shift...

Why I walk...

I was six years old when my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I turn 30 in October. That's 24 years of living with the disease... I have few sweet memories of my mother before the diagnosis... when she was relatively healthy...

Growing up, I had some semblance of a normal childhood. But, as I grew older, and my mom's abilities decreased, my responsibilities increased... It was the same for my brothers, but on a different level.

I love my mother very much, but there are times I feel she was taken from me at an early age. Which brings me to my point...

The illness has taken a larger toll on my mother's health in recent years. Her mobility is severely decreased. Where she was walking around about 50% of the time a few years ago, she is pretty much wheelchair bound now. Her mental faculties have been deteriorating for many years now, but it seems that it is getting worse as of late. She needs more constant care.

Thanks to the local MS Society Chapter, she has had her insurance reinstated (no thanks to the insurance company at my dad's work, "pre-existing condition"), she has a nurse come by a few times in the week to help her shower while my dad is at work, and she gets to go to a local group program a few times a week which allows her to get out of the house. Without the help of the MS society, my mom would be living a house-bound existence and wouldn't be getting the medical care she needs.

To give back to the MS Society, I decided to participate in the local walk for my area this year. It takes place this Saturday. I invite my readers to do something to support this organization. My mom is not the only one they help. You can click on the "Walk MS" icon on the top-left of my blog, to sponsor me in my walk. You can check out their website to see if there are any events scheduled in your area that you can participate in. If you know anyone who is afflicted with the disease, do it in their honor. If you don't know anyone, do it in honor of my mom, Alberta.

Coming up for air...

It feels like I have had no time for anything personal and fun in several weeks. Between insurance renewal season at work (that will last through July) and travel for my grandma's funeral, not to mention finals for school, I AM EXHAUSTED!

I am also EXHILARATED! I finished my classes in my last block, to the best of my ability and sanity. I am sad to say that my business class bore the brunt of my lack of focus in the last few weeks... I will be LUCKY if I pass that class with a C. On the bright side, my research paper ROCKED! (At least, everyone who read it that is NOT my instructor has been extremely pleased with it. I won't get my grade on it until probably Sunday.)

I have some new friends that I met through the PWC that moved to Juneau to fly. Unfortunately, they are being transferred to Skagway (SGY) for the summer, so I won't get to see them as much as I do now, but that is what flight benefits are for. Jessie can jump seat down here to see me and it gives Aaron an excuse to pull the Apache out of the hanger if we want to go there :) Thanks go out to Partner of a Pilot for sending her my way! And MANY THANKS go to Jessie and Jeff for taking my mind off finals yesterday with some classic hanging out at a Mexican restaurant with a margarita! Without the much needed break they provided me (not to mention the soothing powers of the 'rita), I probably would not have finished my research paper in such a spectacular fashion.

After such a high-stress couple of weeks, mother nature rewarded me with a SPECTACULAR SUNNY SPRING DAY! There was NO POSSIBLE WAY that I could be in a bad mood today. I took it easy and went to lunch with Jessie. After work, we went for a nice walk, where I introduced her to the "hippie-free" but still spectacularly pretty trails near the river. Nice, easy, walk through the forest. And, no hippies. (No offense to any ACTUAL hippies reading this post, we have not had good experiences with some of the local "hippies" recently.)

I guess SPECTACULAR is the "word of the day!" Should we all scream like they did on Pee Wee's Playhouse?

The week from hell that allowed me to say goodbye... (part 2)

So, we drove into Walsenburg around 9:30 on Thursday night, after traveling for about 14 hours to get there. We pulled in to the hotel. I thought it was a pretty good hotel on my many drive-by's on my way to my Grandma's house in the past, but I was wrong... Sure, it looks cute from the road, but it is just an "upscale" motel... Upscale because it looks cute from the road. We found a somewhat decent room, but it looked like the carpet hadn't been vacuumed in a while and there were many dead pill bugs on the floor in the bathroom... gross...

We were told that the hotel had high-performance internet, but I couldn't maintain a connection for longer than 10 minutes... So I wasn't able to submit my homework that night... bummer...

The next day was spent at my aunt's house. It was great seeing my brothers again. We haven't all been together in the same room since my wedding. It was crazy at my aunt's house, what with all the relatives congregating there before the memorial, so I wasn't able to use her computer to post my homework. I started working on some of my assignments in hopes that I could post later that night, but it was hard to stay focused.

That night, I tried again to get online... I couldn't even open my email. I tried to move to the lobby, where I assumed the wireless router was, but the signal didn't strengthen. I was allowed to use the computer in the lounge to send emails to my instructors to update them on why I wasn't posting anything. At that point, I figured that I wouldn't be able to do anything for school, so I decided to focus on enjoying the rest of my time in Colorado with my family... That's right, I blew off school work - sue me...